Like This Was Ever Going to Be Easy
by Funky In Fishnet
Summary: With her boyfriend Chris Sabin out with a serious injury, Velvet Sky deals with working in TNA, always looking over her shoulder, always aching inside.


_**Disclaimer: **I own nothing._

_**Author Notes**: Velvet & Chris are dating in real life and for a short time, they did on-screen as well. This is my take on the on-screen time. Enjoy, and all feedback welcome :)_

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><p><strong>LIKE THIS WAS EVER GOING TO BE EASY<strong>

It was right after her match, as Velvet got a few steps into the backstage area, that Alex grabbed her arm and stopped her right where she was. He was slick with damp from a recent shower, and his hair was wilder and more skunk-like than usual. He seriously had to see a colorist more regularly.

Alex's eyes were serious for a change, with no mocking smirk curling his mouth. Like he had something important to say. So Velvet didn't demand that he get his hands off her. Not yet, anyway.

"He's having a bad day. Call him so he'll stop bitching at me, okay?"

Velvet raised unimpressed eyebrows. Alex smirked, like she was overreacting, and started singing as he winked and walked away. They could both play that game – acting most of the time like the other member of their trio being out for a year was no big thing. It was the only way either of them could deal with it, and deal with working each day without seeing him regularly enough. Well, it was the way that Velvet coped. She had no clue about Alex. It wasn't like he talked about it. Neither of them did.

A sharp whistle caught her attention. Miss Tessmacher was gesturing furiously from the exit doors, their bags at her feet. She'd found somewhere for them to change outside of the Knockouts' Locker Room. Thank God. Velvet could not be in the same room as Winter, seeing her fawn over Angelina and seeing Angelina's glassy or hateful stare. No way.

She changed quickly in the private corner Tessmacher had found before heading out. She'd been given the rest of the night off and she wasn't going to call Chris until she was where nobody could interrupt her.

Her bags hit the floor of her Florida home. She grabbed a beer and the leftover apple pie from the refrigerator, and punched speed dial on her cellphone. It only took a couple of rings before Chris picked up.

"Hey."

His voice sounded faraway and tired. Velvet frowned. That tone was why Alex had gotten serious. She understood now. It didn't sound like Chris. She could work on that.

"So I got beat up by an ugly redneck with no contract or sense of style," she commented purposefully light, dropping onto the couch. "How was your day?"

Chris laughed and that sounded good. Velvet cracked open her beer with a celebratory twist of her wrist. Oh, she was good at this. Of course she wanted to be with Chris throughout all his rehab but there was a limit to how helpful she'd actually be. And Chris had told both her and Alex to get back to their jobs, that he'd be fine as he had a lot of gaming to catch up on. He'd insisted and had guilted them into agreeing, using his 'I'm the injured one here' stance for maximum leverage.

Thank God she finally had a weekend free coming up.

"So...any requests for the weekend?"

Chris's laugh was completely different this time, filthy and smirking and sending a really delicious shiver down Velvet's spine. Oh, she could work with that too. Chris's leg might be out of action, but she was flexible enough for the challenge.

Chris was clearly thinking along the same bendy lines. "You know, I'm injured. You could take of me, bend over backwards, tend to my every need…"

Velvet almost snorted out beer as she laughed. That sounded like Chris. Mission accomplished.

"Oh, I'll tend to something."

"God, I hope so."

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><p>Velvet dropped a couple of store bags at the nearest table. "Okay, it is definitely time to hit the food court."<p>

Miss Tessmacher, with even more bags than Velvet balanced in her arms, nodded. They'd been out most of the morning, making the most of their day off, getting themselves some relaxation and fun. Actually having time off without any promotional commitments or house shows was a pretty unusual, so they'd taken full advantage of it. Normally, Velvet would have used the day to see Chris, but he was working on the band's music with Alex and Petey so they'd agreed to meet up sometime that evening instead.

As they grabbed a table, something niggled painfully inside Velvet. A few months ago, at a time like this, it would have been her and Angelina tearing through clothing stores, treating themselves to manicures and tanning before hitting the bars late into the evening. Yeah, that was all in the past now. It still bit at her when she didn't expect it and it was still fucking difficult to try and shove all those years of friendship and closeness aside and actually beat the crap out of the woman she still considered her best friend. Apparently Angelina found it really easy. Fucking Winter.

"I need to stay away from carbs," Miss Tessmacher muttered, running a finger down one of the menus, pulling Velvet back to the present. "I have that photoshoot tomorrow."

They ordered from Mexican and then got a bunch of salads too. Velvet made sure she got a box of fries as well, drenched in hot sauce. The place here got the flavors just right. It was a perfect guilty pleasure and boy, did she need that right now. Miss Tessmacher laughed and snapped a picture on Velvet's iPhone.

"Oh, that is perfect. Here."

Miss Tessmacher handed it back and Velvet looked at the screen for two seconds before forwarding the picture on to Chris. Even before he was injured, they'd played phone-tag. They worked in the same company, but they didn't get to spend every day together. When they weren't wrestling, there were interviews and photo shoots and promo events and gym sessions. It didn't leave much time for them to be together, or for him and Alex to hang out either. It sucked. It was a shitty line they were all walking together. Who knew what would happen if they overbalanced?

Chris texted back immediately. _Your breath must be really sexy right now._

Velvet took a picture of Miss Tessmacher sucking up a forkful of food, her mouth pursed seductively. _It's not just me_.

Before he could reply, she sent another one, this time of her and Miss Tessmacher posing together. Chris sent back rows of smiley faces and winks, with a follow-up message stating that Alex and Petey appreciated the photos too. It had been a long morning for them locked inside the studio with just each other and the engineers for company.

Chris sent her photos throughout the day. One of the view from the studio window – a lot of grey concrete, and sunlight winking off rows of cars, one of Alex concentrating hard on his guitar and for once losing his look of constant mockery, Petey twirling a drumstick, the mixing desks, Petey, Chris, and Alex all staring off into the middle-distance together.

_Album cover – the money shot_ Velvet replied to the last one.

Later, as she was packing her car up and getting ready to drive to Chris's house, he sent her a photo of his kitchen, pans crammed onto the stovetop, and something floury and oddly-shaped on the counter. There was a lot of smoke rising above the stove, and one of Chris's hands was in shot, steadying a panhandle.

The text with it read _I can get hot too_

Velvet grinned. She gunned the engine, recorded the sound, and sent it to Chris. That was reply enough.

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><p>Chris was on speaker as Velvet got changed. For once, the Knockouts Locker Room was empty – Angelina and Winter had already left – so Velvet actually had the time and space to change without feeling like her skin was crawling as Angelina stared at her with intense hatred, or worse with complete vacancy.<p>

Chris was singing. The band had managed to lay down a new song yesterday and he was still singing it. It was good, heavy and solid and catchy. Velvet had been singing bits of it since Chris had played it to her. She sang along, just under her breath, more of a whisper than actual singing. It echoed in the empty room. Goosebumps rose on Velvet's arms.

"Petey got us a show," Chris interrupted his own singing. "You could be one of all eight of our crowd."

Velvet laughed and the echo came back at her hard. It felt like a slap.

Times like these, she couldn't stop thinking about Angelina. Sometimes, she still looked for her, expecting to hear her footsteps always so close by, like they used to be.

"Babe?"

Velvet shook her head and grabbed her shoes. She had to get out of here and out of her own head. If she let that melodrama get under her skin permanently and brought that into the ring with her, then Winter and her ridiculous wardrobe choices won. That was not acceptable, on any level.

"A show sounds good," she said at last.

She didn't have to explain. Chris knew. And he didn't push. He'd squeeze her arm or kiss her or arch an eyebrow in the universal code of 'want a drink for that?' She always did the same for him.

He was probably giving her that look right now.

Velvet grabbed her bag and took her phone off speaker. "I need a whole bottle tonight."

"Sounds like fun."

"I'll let you know."

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><p>Velvet kept a lot of important stuff in her purse. It went with her everywhere. Alongside essentials like at least one compact, gum, and a comb, there was a hidden zippered section where Velvet kept a folded photograph. It was her and Chris, arms around each other and both holding drinks. She was wearing something pink and tight and Alex, who was behind the camera, had just said something to make Chris laugh. Despite the hint of red-eye, it was a good picture.<p>

The folds had left a permanent crease down Chris's smiling face.

* * *

><p>There was somebody outside her apartment. Velvet wrapped up her phone call with management and opened the door, just as Chris was digging his key out. He winced as he moved. Velvet slid under his arm before he could protest. He looked really good – faded jeans, an old gaming t-shirt, a couple of rubber bracelets around one wrist. He even looked rested, the lines of pain slightly looser around his eyes. Maybe it wasn't so bad at night anymore.<p>

It had been a couple of weeks since they'd last seen each other. Angelina had been invisible backstage so Velvet had been constantly looking over her shoulder. The dull ache under her skin was sharper than usual. She pressed herself against him for a moment, breathing him in and smearing powder on his clothes, before she raised her head to kiss him.

When they eventually surfaced, Chris's grin was wide and soft at the edges. "Couldn't wait to get your hands on me, huh?"

Velvet smiled back, one of her hands staying tightly fisted in his shirt for a moment more. That told him everything that she wasn't going to say.

"Yeah," she replied lightly, guiding him to the couch with a now-practiced ease before heading to the fridge for beers. "Let's go with that."

_-the end_


End file.
